Planned Greenway path would link Salisbury neighborhoods

Linking Schumaker Pond, shown here, to Pemberton Park on the city’s west side via nine miles of paths is part of the Urban Greenway Plan that will be presented to the council at its work session on Tuesday.(Photo: Daily Times file photo.)Buy Photo

Salisbury officials are getting ready to implement a plan to link neighborhoods, schools, parks and businesses with nine miles of paths as a way to move people easily and safely through a town intersected by two highways.

“This is the critical east-west connector,” said Mayor Jake Day.

The Urban Greenway Master Plan between Schumaker Pond on the east side of town to Pemberton Park on the west will to be presented to the City Council at a work session on Tuesday, and will still need formal council approval at a future legislative session.

The concept has been around since 1965, but previous city leaders never took steps to carry it out, Day said.

“These are all things long-planned by city leaders, but not implemented,” he said. “The plan doesn’t just implement itself.”

Day said he was including a funding plan for the various phases into a proposed capital improvement plan that will be submitted to the City Council at its Jan. 16 work session.

This map shows the proposed route of the nine miles of pathway the city is proposing be linked together.(Photo: City of Salisbury)

Phase 1 of the plan includes the redevelopment of the city’s existing Riverwalk, which has mostly been completed, and an extension of the Riverwalk and parking reconfiguration near Market Street Inn. The first phase also will include improved pedestrian crossings at the busy Route 13 and Main Street intersection.

Day said work along Carroll Street will likely come next, with walkways and bike lanes, including a pedestrian bridge at Camden Street, while the areas near Schumaker Park and Pemberton Park will come last since they are outside city limits.

The alignment for the Greenway is broken up into 11 phases that can either be built in stages or grouped together. The highest priority phases are in the downtown area where it’s expected to be the most visible and get the highest use.

The city will rely on various state and federal grants, including the federal Transportation Alternatives Program, Safe Routes to Schools and Program Open Space, to help pay for the work, he said.

This map shows each phase of the Urban Greenway Plan.(Photo: City of Salisbury)

Most of the plan involves the development of bicycling and walking paths to help foster connections between neighborhoods. According to the plan, “Investments to improve bicycle infrastructure have demonstrated a positive economic impact on job growth. For every $1 million invested in bikes lanes, the City of Baltimore has seen an increase of 14.4 jobs.”

Walking and biking trails also result in more tourism spending and increased property values, according to the plan.